Many job seekers apply to every job posting they see, hoping that if they cast a wide net, they’ll surely find a fish. But the truth is, that approach only works if you have the time to tailor your application to every posting, which is usually unrealistic. Employers are looking for someone who’s a great fit for their company, and if your resume and cover letter are too generic, they won’t be able to communicate that key message. Sure, some job postings are generic themselves -- “Assistant needed for top production company,” or “Writers’ assistant needed for cable series” -- and in those instances, you can send the same resume to the same type of posting, but even then, you’ll sound more authentic if you start your cover letter from scratch.

Certainly, your resume for a production company job should read differently than your resume for a writers’ assistant position, even if that means simply reordering the bullets in each section. As you move up in your career, the nuances in job postings become even more apparent, and you’ll need to read through your resume very carefully before each submission to make sure you’ve hit on all the important bullet points. Firing off 100 resumes a week sounds like it should yield a lot of interviews, but you’re more likely to get responses from 10 well-crafted applications.